Hereford, when a general rush for dry clothes took place. In the evening a reception was held at "The Haven," when the Rev. J. E. Vize read a paper on "Polycystina," and exhibited specimens. Dr. Bull made a few observations "On the Solution of a New Zealand Botanical Mystery," and showed specimens of Torrubia Robertsii in fine fruit.

On Wednesday, October 7th, the mycologists being joined by Dr. M. C. Cooke, made an excursion to Dinmore Hill. Special instructions had been given to search for and to find two species which had not previously been met with in these Herefordshire forays, viz., Boletus purpurascens and Cortinarius dibaphus. The former was soon found-two specimens only, and they somewhat passé, but still characteristic the latter in abundance in all stages and in excellent condition. This remarkable Cortinarius has certainly during the past sixteen years never previously put in an appearance at Hereford. So large and so well marked a plant could not have been overlooked, with its brownish-yellow, viscid pileus surrounded by a purple margin, its lemon-yellow gills and stem, with its marginate bulb, all of which characters render it a fungus once seen never to be forgotten. One point about it, however, is not quite clear. Fries placed it in the third group of the Scauri, "with ferrugineous yellow or fulvous gills"; but in his description he speaks of the gills as being purpurascenti-ferrugineus, yet he quotes Saunders and Smith, t. 10, but which figure, like our Hereford specimens, is devoid of any purple tint about the gills. The inference is that the purpurascenti must be a clerical error. Dinmore yielded its usual crop of good things, which have so often before been enumerated, including Thelephora clavularis, Hygrophorus arbustivus, and a Peziza that puzzled Mr. Phillips. In the evening the mycologists were entertained at dinner by Mr. C. G. Martin, the President of the Woolhope Club, after which Mr. Phillips read in the Woolhope Club-room his very interesting paper on Puffballs," illustrated with drawings of many species. He expressed his opinion that Lycoperdon perlatum was undoubtedly British, and that under L. saccatum we include a good species, L. excipuliforme, the spores of L. saccatum being larger, and have a peculiar outline. They are often spoken of as echinulate, but this is hardly the case, as these are not so much covered by spines as surrounded by a paler irregularly pointed outline. It is to be hoped Mr. Phillips will publish his paper in extenso, with figures of the spores of the different species.

66

On Club-day, Thursday, October 8th, a strong muster of members, including four ladies, assembled at the station and took train for Leominster, in spite of threatening weather, which developed into a sharp rain on our arrival at the lastnamed place. Nothing daunted, carriages were taken, and a start made for Risbury Camp. During the ride the clouds broke, the blue sky became visible, and the sun shone out. Unversed as the present writer is in the mysteries of archæology, his impressions of the camp are worth but little, but it seemed to be protected by very muddy approaches, to produce few fungi, and to be full of apples! The party now gracefully slid down the grassy slopes of the camp, and made for Hell Hole Dingle, through which we were to walk to Hampton Court. But across the Dingle ran a stream, over which the party had to cross on a weir. To effect this comfortably the order was given for the young and able-bodied each

to carry a stone. This was of course done for something under a mile, but-oh, cruel fate!-only to find, after the portage had been made, that a rustic bridge spanned the stream a few hundred yards above the weir. Lamentations over wasted labour were, however, soon dispelled when the rare Agaricus Badhami, was found in fine condition under some Fir trees. The walk through the Dingle-the length of which was variously estimated from a half to four miles-was productive of many interesting fungi, and in due course Hampton Court came into view, with its Gipsy Oak, ancient Cedars, and spacious lawn. Mr. Arkwright regaled as many as were disposed with refreshment, while the others hunted over the lawn. Under one of the Cedars Mr. W. B. Grove, of Birmingham, soon discovered a Geaster, probably G. Bryantii.

As the time was passing away, the order "Forward" was given, and Dinmore Hill was ascended. The general who led his 10,000 men up a hill and down again has long been held up to ridicule in rhyme, but to lead an army of mycologists, not only up a hill, but through a wood, is by no means so easy a feat. Somebody blundered; the wrong turn was taken; and, instead of coming out at the station, we came out somewhere on the wrong side of the hill. Train time was drawing near, rain began to fall, legs began to ache, baskets to feel heavy ; nobody seemed to know exactly where we were, nor which way we should go till the order " "Forward " was again given. Now, in point of fact, this was really "backward," but Woolhopeans, unlike ropemakers, do not as a rule progress backwards; so on we went, not without trepidation, however, lest we should find ourselves the next time we emerged from the wood worse off than before. The rumble of a railway train at the junction sounded ominously in our ears. Under such circumstances how eagerly every one is on the look out for a landmark, a sign-post, a windmill, or well-known church steeple, for instance, but no such landmark cheered our gaze. At last one of the party sighted a particular clump of trees. All right now: here is where A. atro-punctatus grows. Take the path to the left, and we shall be all right. Still some were a little dubious about plunging once more into brushwood in which you could not see ten yards in front of you, but soon other landmarks presented themselves-first the places where Boletus purpurascens was found, then the habitat of Cortinarius dibaphus, which, of course, settled the whole affair; and within ten minutes we were safely landed at the station, and in due course arrived at Hereford.

There is a great similarity amongst all dinners, even if they be the Woolhope dinners, but they are for all that necessary, and by no means unpleasant, events. After dinner Dr. Cooke read a humorous poem, entitled "Flamen Pomonalis," in which the Editor of the Pomona figured largely. This was followed by a very interesting paper on "The Origin of Domestic Poultry," by Mr. E. C. Phillips.

In the evening the company assembled in the Woolhope Club-room. The writer gave an account of Brefeld's researches on the Ustilaginei, in which he pointed out Brefeld's method of cultivating these spores in " Kammern," so that they are exposed to the air, and yet the culture is not spoiled by Bacteria, although the nourishing fluid employed is a highly putrescible one, namely a decoction of the excreta of herbivorous animals. He also pointed out the absurdity of the

statement which has been made about Brefeld, namely, that he has attempted to show that yeast (Saccharomyces) originates from the Ustilaginei, whereas his investigations show that the conidia of the Ustilaginei reproduce themselves by budding (just as yeast-cells do), not in saccharine solutions, but in the excreta of various vegetable-feeding animals.

A discussion followed, opened by Dr. Bull, on "The Effect of Fungus Growth in Destroying Tree Life," in which several members took part.

Dr. Cooke exhibited a specimen of Agaricus melleus, originating from the threads of Rhizomorpha, from Epping Forest, as a case in point, showing that A. melleus was a true tree-destroying fungus. The researches of Hartig were referred to by one of the members, and the general wish expressed that the subject should be taken up more fully next year.

The last day was spent in Haywood Forest, where, as usual, Cortinarius sebaceus and C. triumphans were found, together with several other species of more or less interest. In the evening Mr. Vize read his paper on "Pestalozzia," alluding, among other species, to the P. Guepeni, which plays such havoc on Camellia leaves.

During the week the following were amongst the more important and interesting species met with :

Agaricus Badhami, pantherinus, metulæsporus, carcharias, mucidus, sejunctus, albo-brunneus, atro-squamosus, sulphureus, carneus, clavipes, odorus, phyllophilus, fumosus, vertirugis, rancidus, purus, filipes, roridus, rusticus, phlebophorus, lividus, inodorus, orcella, pisciodorus, variabilis, radicosus, pudicus, pyriodorus, glutinosus, sinapizans, carbonarius, alnicola, erinaceus, squamosus, pyrotrichus, semivestitus. Coprinus comatus, fuscescens.

Cortinarius triumphans, balteatus, sebaceus, varius, varicolor, infractus, glaucopus, purpurascens, dibaphus, fulgens, papulosus, collinitus, mucifluus, elatior, vibratilis, albo-violaceus, anomalus, torvus, evernius, hinnuleus, incisus, privignus, saturninus, decipiens.

Hygrophorus cossus, arbustivus, olivaceo-albus.

Lactarius torminosus, turpis, hysginus, flexuosus, pyrogalus, glyciosmus, mitissimus.

Russula furcata, rosacea, fella, vesca.

Nyctalis parasitica.

Marasmius fœtidus, Hudsoni.

Boletus tenuipes, badius, piperatus, purpureus, edulis, versipellis, scaber, felleus, laricinus.

Polyporus rufescens, giganteus.

Tremella foliacea, mesenterica.

Hirneola auricula-Judæ.

Geaster fimbriatus, Bryantii.

Tuber æstivum.

And so the happy week ended. One more Woolhope week is over; may we all meet again next year. Charles B. Plowright.-Gardeners' Chronicle, Oct. 17th,

1885.

In Memoriam.

H. G. BULL, M.D.

THE Transactions for the year 1885 would be singularly incomplete without something more than a mere passing notice of the great and lamentable loss which the Woolhope Club has sustained by the death of Dr. Bull-without indeed the most sincere expression of its deep regret, and payment of the full tribute of its affectionate remembrance. The disorder which, unsuspected until a few short weeks before its fatal termination, removed our old and well-tried friend from amongst us on the 31st of October, has inflicted that loss indeed, not only on the Woolhope Club, but on the City in which for so many years he was prominent in every good work, and on a still wider circle of attached friends both in Herefordshire and throughout the whole country. And it is a loss which it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to repair.

A native of Northamptonshire, Dr. Bull came to Hereford in 1841, and established himself in practice there as a physician very shortly after the close of his medical education in Paris and at the University of Edinburgh. This is perhaps hardly the place in which to say much of the general and grateful estimation accorded to him in his professional capacity. The remark however may be allowed that such estimation owed its origin scarcely more to the skill with which he exercised his profession, or to his assiduous attention to its duties, than to the sympathy of his nature, the charm of his cheerful, kindly, manner, and very markedly to his abundant charity towards the suffering poor.

It is rather as a public man, if one would (as indeed in any memoir of him, however brief, one ought to) go beyond the thought of his connexion with our Club, that he claims our first notice.

Primarily probably in this respect he will be remembered by his 21 years' services to the General Infirmary, the staff of which he joined in 1864. Nor were these services marked only by his punctual attendances, and the careful interest which he took in the patients that came under his hands; but the arrangement of the house itself, and the laying out of the grounds around it, remain to attest how even minor details of what might conduce to the welfare of that noble institution occupied his mind. He had become connected with the Dispensary at a much earlier period, in 1842, and as he recognised how it might be made subservient to the moral as well as to the physical well-being of the poor, it was to his action that the foundation of the Provident Branch of that Charity was due.

The improvement indeed of his fellow citizens in every way, especially of those who were dependent upon the help of others for the means of such improvement, was one of the main objects of his life. Hence the Herefordshire

Friendly Society (one of the most well-ordered of existing Benefit Clubs), found in him a zealous and energetic supporter. Similarly he worked heartily, in cooperation with the Rev. John Venn, and others, to establish the Hereford Society for Aiding the Industrious. And he was associated with the Trustees of the City Charities. Thus also when the question was one of intellectual, no less than of moral, advancement. No one more warmly accepted the offer made by Mr. Rankin to erect the building in which the Free Library and News-room have their present home, or exerted himself more strenuously to extend the benefits of these institutions, sitting as Chairman of their Committee for many years.

And the Permanent Library likewise commanded no small share of his interest and time.

Such a remarkable record of philanthropic energy it is given to few men to leave behind them. Particularly when it is borne in mind how necessarily extensive were the claims which a large private practice made upon his time and thoughts, and that, in the case of each and any of these works which he undertook, it was no mere perfunctory or intermittent attention that he gave to it, but thorough enquiry into its needs, and the whole bending of his vigorous, business-like, habit of mind to the regulation of its affairs. The sight that was witnessed in the City on the day of his burial in Breinton Churchyard testified, as few things could have more adequately testified, to the keen appreciation by all classes of what that record meant.

But besides all this, there was a large, and that a very important, side of Dr. Bull's life and character which it is for us more particularly here to recall. That was his intense devotion to natural science, and especially as this devotion was expressed in his labours for the welfare of the Woolhope Club. To say that he was 66 versatile" in his grasp of various branches of such science is possibly to convey a wrong impression as of superficiality of knowledge, and a quickness of apprehension seizing only here and there the most striking points of each subject of study. This was by no means the characteristic of his mind. And yet what word more expressive than versatility can give any idea of the breadth of thought to which botany, mycology, ornithology, horticulture, to a certain extent geology, and again medieval and antiquarian lore, were all almost equally familiar, which could get down scientifically to the secrets of each, and which could furnish him with readiness and clearness of exposition, when either or all came under discussion? To the Members of the Club, in whose memories the sight of the cheery presence, the sound of the aptly chosen and incisive words wherewith he conversed on the varying topics that their excursions suggested, still lingers, and must long linger, there is perhaps but less necessity to dilate on that ardent love of nature which displayed itself in all his words and actions. And yet one is compelled to dwell upon all that he was to us. What indeed was he not to us?

He was never President but once, in the year 1866. But official status was a minor matter. For all the years from then till now he was in a very true sense "the life and soul" of the Club; the energizing spirit of all that it did or achieved, whether in the conspicuous successes of its Field Meetings, or in the less noticeable